Scholarship opportunities for Masters students in Social Sciences and Humanities, 2016

Social Sciences and Humanities scholarships: The American Councils invites applications for research scholar program for independent, overseas policy relevant research in the humanities and social sciences.

The Research Scholar Program provides full support for graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars seeking to conduct in-country, independent research for three consecutive months to nine consecutive months in Central Asia, Moldova, Russia, the South Caucasus, Southeast Europe, and Ukraine.

The total value of Title VIII Research Scholar fellowships ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. The application deadline is December 15th, 2015.

Study Subject(s): Fellowships are awarded in the area of social sciences and humanities.
Course Level: Fellowships are available to graduate students, faculty, and independent scholars seeking to conduct in-country, independent research.

Scholarship Provider: The U.S. Department of State’s Program for Research and Training on Eastern Europe and the Independent States of the Former Soviet Union (Title VIII)

Eligibility: Scholars in the social sciences and humanities are eligible to apply for the program. While a wide-range of topics receive support each year, all funded research must contribute to a body of knowledge enabling the U.S. to better understand the region and formulate effective policies within it.

All applicants should clearly describe the policy-relevance of their work, be it in anthropology, history, international relations, political science, or some other field.Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The competition for funding is open and merit-based.

All applications will receive consideration without regard to any factor such as race, color religion, sex, sexual orientation, national origin, marital status, political affiliation, or disability.

Scholarship Open for International Students: US fellows are eligible to apply.

Scholarship Description: With funds from the U.S. Department of State (Title VIII), American Councils administers several major grants for independent, overseas policy relevant research in the humanities and social sciences as well as language training. In recent years, American Councils scholars have conducted independent research in Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Ukraine. American Councils for International Education: ACTR/ACCELS is pleased to announce competition for Title VIII Research Scholar Program and Title VIII Combined Research and Language Training Program.

Duration of award(s): The American Councils Research Scholar Program provides full support for three consecutive months to nine consecutive months.The program begins between June 1, 2016 and April 1, 2017. All programs must be completed by June 30, 2017.

What does it cover? The total value of Title VIII Research Scholar fellowships, administered by American Councils, ranges from $5,000 to $25,000. Typical awards include:
-International airfare from the scholar’s home city to his/her host city overseas
-Academic affiliation at a leading local university or educational institution
-Visa(s) arranged by American Councils in direct collaboration with academic host institutions in order to facilitate archive access and guarantee timely visa registration
-A housing stipend
-A monthly living stipend
-Health insurance of up to $100,000 per accident or illness
-Ongoing logistical support from American Councils offices throughout the region, including in-country orientation and 24-hour emergency aid.

Selection Criteria: The competition for funding is open and merit-based. All applications are reviewed by outside readers with expertise in the applicant’s specific research field and region. Written comments from these evaluators, along with all application materials, are then reviewed by a final, independent selection committee of leading U.S. scholars. Criteria used to evaluate applications include (but are not limited to):
-Relevance of research to U.S. policy makers
-Potential of proposed research to provide new insights into the region and/or discipline
-Project focus and degree to which timelines for completion of research are realistic
-Sufficiency of applicant’s training and background, including knowledge of existing literature
-Degree of scholarly need for access to resources overseas
-Sufficiency of applicant’s language skills to carry out the proposed work (as demonstrated by the applicant’s research synopsis and at least one letter of reference).

Notification: Fellowship awards are announced roughly sixteen weeks after the application deadline. If you are selected as an alternate, notification of final funding results could take longer than sixteen weeks.

How to Apply: All application materials must be postmakred by the deadline. Letters of recommendation and official transcripts may be sent separately to American Councils. Applications may also be submitted electronically via email to outbound-at-americancouncils.org. Please note if you are submitting your application from overseas, you must notify American Councils of your impending application. It is highly recommend to you using an expedited mail service and also recommend contacting American Councils with the estimated arrival date of your application.